The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the US, has pledged USD 500 million over the next five years to expand savings and build a “new financial infrastructure” to bring savings services to the poor.
The pledge includes six new grants totaling USD 40 million. The grants will support projects and partnerships to improve access to savings and other financial services, including expansion of bank and microfinance services to include savings accounts, implementation of new approaches to reach the poor with savings and research to identify how people use formal and informal financial tools, including savings, credit, insurance and payment services.
The recipients include:
World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI): USD 600,000
The grant will support WSBI in identifying viable projects that could be supported to offer affordable, accessible and sustainable savings accounts through approximately 10 additional WSBI member banks.
Vodacom Tanzania Limited (VTL): USD 4.8 million
This program aims to increase awareness and usage of the mobile money service, M-PESA, in Tanzania, reaching at least 2 million people in 18 months.
ShoreBank International Limited: USD 10 million
This project will work with BRAC Bank Limited to build “bKash”, a scalable mobile money platform that will allow poor Bangladeshis to store, transfer and receive money safely via mobile phones.
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor): USD 6 million
This program will promote the use of branchless banking to increase the number of poor people with access to financial services, particularly savings.
World Bank: USD 11.4 million
This program will include 10 financial questions in an existing Gallup global poll to generate baseline data on financial inclusion levels across 150 countries. The survey will be issued every three years to measure and track specific data on people’s use and access to financial tools including formal and informal banking.
Yale University/Innovations for Poverty Action: USD 7 million
This project will launch more than 20 studies to identify the best ways to reach the poor with savings products and money-transfer services.
By Witt Gatchell, Research Associate
About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
Based in the US, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides grants to organizations in approximately 100 countries around the world with the aim of enhancing health care, reducing poverty and expanding access to education and information technology. As of September 2009, its endowment totaled USD 34 billion. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Financial Services for the Poor initiative focuses on providing people with secure places to save money. To support this initiative, the foundation works with financial organizations to increase access to technology (point of sales devices, automated teller machines, etc.) and to forge partnerships between mobile phone companies, banks and microfinance institutions. It also supports the startup and growth of new banks in challenging markets.
About World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI):
The World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI) is an international banking association that represents savings and retail banks in 92 countries.
About CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor):
Housed at the World Bank Group, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) is an independent policy and research center dedicated to facilitating the provision of financial access to poor people worldwide. CGAP is supported by approximately thirty development agencies and private foundations. Its mission is to provide market intelligence, to promote standards and to offer advisory services to governments, microfinance providers, donors and investors.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release: “Melinda Gates Challenges Global Leaders: Create Savings Accounts and Bring Financial Security to the World’s Poorest” http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/melinda-gates-at-glo…
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Following Strategic Review, the Gates Foundation to Focus on Microsavings Within Microfinance Initiative, August 6, 2008
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-story-following-strategic-revie…
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bil…
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI)
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Wor…
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: CGAP
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=CGA…
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